Sunday, 30 December 2012

Brian McArdle;
Brian was paralysed down his left hand side, blind in one eye and unable to speak properly. Yet he was declared fit for work. Brian collapsed of a heart attack because of the stress of losing his benefits.

Mark Mullins and Helen Mullins:
Mark and Helen Mullins were found lying side by side in their home after committing suicide together.They had been left destitute after Helen had her claim for benefit turned down,they had no food, no heating and no electric.

Richard Sanderson:
Richard Sanderson, of Southfields, south west London, committed suicide after receiving a letter from Wandsworth Council informing him his housing benefit would be cut by £30 a month.

Martin Rust,
Martin Rust, 36,a schizophrenic had his benefits cut and was ordered back to work.He left a note saying: “To those I love, I’m sorry. Goodbye.” Coroner William Armstrong said the DWP’s decision “caused distress and may well have had an adverse effect”, recording that Mr Rust had committed suicide while suffering from a treatment-resistant mental illness.

Craig Monk
Criag Monk. 43, was found hanging in his home, he had a a partial amputation of his leg and was described by his family as “vulnerable” he became depressed that his benefits had been cut.

Colin Traynor
Colin Traynor, who was a life long epileptic. He was assessed as fit for work, he appealed, but his parents say he became depressed and lost weight , he died less than four months later,the day after his death his parents found out he had won That appeal.

David Groves
David Groves, 56, died of a massive heart ­attack the night before his medical assessment as he sat at his computer and scoured the Internet for ways to raise cash in case he lost his entitlement.

Elaine Christian
Elaine Christian, 57, was found in a drain after walking out of her home. A post mortem revealed she had died from drowning, despite having more than ten self-inflicted cuts on her wrists.The inquest in Hull was told Mrs Christian had been deeply worried about a meeting she was due to have to discuss her entitlement to disability benefits.

Christelle Pardo and Kayjah Pardo:
Christelle Pardo,32 and Kayjah Pardo 6 months, After having all her income cut off and her housing benefit withdrawn, and with a baby to care for, she had been left destitute. When she begged for help the only response from the DWP was that she didn’t qualify under the rules,So she killed herself and her young child.

Leanne Chambers:
Leanne, 30, body was found in the river weir five months after she walked out of her home she had battled depression for a number of years and had taken a turn for the worse after receiving a letter telling her she had to be assessed by a doctor she did not know, to see if she was fit to return to work.

Mark Scott:
Mark Scott, 46, who suffered from anxiety, epilepsy was left penniless when he was declared fit for work and his benefits were stopped.He died six weeks later in the Southport flat where he lived alone.

Karen Sherlock,
Karen died after a long and difficult fight, losing her benefits after being told she was fit for work, and after finally winning her appeal. Karen had diabetes with kidney complications.

Cecilia Burns,
Cecilia was a cancer sufferer, who had her benefits cut by government officials who said she was fit to work after she was assessed by government contractor Atos Healthcare.

Chris Cann,
Chris was a triple amputee who was wrongly declared fit for work died after being deemed ‘fit for work’.

Stephen Hill,
Stephen was declared fit for work, with the assessor declaring: “Significant disability due to cardiovascular problems seems unlikely.” Mr Hill died of a heart attack five weeks later. Read more into <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9436969/Disability-tests-sending-sick-and-disabled-back-to-work.html">Stephen Hill`s</a> story.

Peter Hodgson,
Peter was a “VULNERABLE’ disabled man who took his own life felt pressurised by changes to the benefits system.

Paul Willcoxson
Paul had mental health issues and he took his own life because of stress and worrying about benefit cuts

George, from Chesterfield
Another Atos victim found fit for work collapsed and died of a heart attack, the day before another Atos medical. His widow is convinced the stress of claiming killed him

NOTE - The above list is ongoing and will be updated whenever a new DWP/Atos related death occurs. If I have forgotten to mention anyone, please leave me a comment with the details. Thanks

More DWP/ATOS related horror stories:

Eileen Nearne MBE
Eileen was a WWII spy tortured by the Nazis died penniless after her British pension was halted without explanation

Louise Davidson
Louise suffers from cystic fibrosis and is a lung transplant patient. She had her benefits cut from £130 to £21 and the DWP are taking back her mobility car because she was able to walk from one side of a room to the other.

Gary Stirling
Gary suffers from PTSD, found fit for work had benefits cut, is about to be made homeless and is now surviving thanks to food bank.

Ruth Anim
Ruth has learning difficulties, a heart problem and epilepsy. A work capability test by Atos said she should prepare for a job.

Tony Harris
Tony, who is registered blind, has been found "fir for work" after making "good eye contact" at an Atos WCA.

Christian Dalley
Christian has had 2 lobotomies after suffering severe brain damage as a result of a bike accident. He has been found "fit for work" twice by Atos paper-pushers and twice won on appeal.

Andrew Clegg
Andrew has spinal damage and is in constant pain but Atos has been found "fit for work" and he is likely to lose all his benefits.

Lisa EganLisa has mobility impairment and chronic health problems but now, due to the stress, is also depressed. “The fear of ‘I can’t get this done in time, they're going to stop my money’ is pretty rough," says Lisa. "My depression has definitely been made worse by the whole experience. Sitting there with the form in your hand to beg for ‘taxpayers’ money’ to fund your burdensome existence makes it really hard to find any reason to not just give up.”Daniel Mann*Daniel had two brain injuries left him visually impaired and largely unable to walk or use his arms. He was left without food or money for bills thanks to DWP "left not knowing what right is doing". *Name changedDeborah KellyDeborah has cognitive and physical problems. She says: “Being turned down is a bit like facing an accusation, If you’ve said you need this help and they say you don’t, they’ve as good as said you’re lying. I’ve not had the energy, physically, mentally and emotionally, to fight it.”

NOTE - The above list is ongoing and will be updated whenever a new DWP/Atos related horror story occurs. If I have forgotten to mention anyone, please leave me a comment with the details. Thanks

"The Welfare System in the UK is pretty much like the NHS: The envy of the world but in need of some reforms." FoxWisdom

Not many people will disagree with the statement above. What people disagree with is the systematic cut-backs both services are receiving. You see, our ruling classes find it acceptable to target the poor, the ill, the elderly and the vulnerable who without the pittance they receive from the state are now being victimised, labelled "scroungers" and thrown into further poverty and despair.

Our current PM and it`s cronies say it`s the "UK`s moral duty" to spend £11bn in foreign aid, while children are going hungry in the UK! They (The Gov) wasted a ludicrous amount of OUR money on Trident (NUCLEAR WEAPONS), while our elderly die of hypothermia because they can`t afford to pay for central heating. They (The Gov) are revelling in the thought of cutting benefits, claiming to be saving the state money in this time of austerity. Lies. What they really hope for is for us, the plebs, to become destitute and with any luck die. Yes, I do believe this government is pushing people to take their own lives. Desperate parents having to accept charity from food banks to feed their children. This is UK (EUROPE) in the year 2012-2013, not Africa. It`s a total disgrace!

Sorry for ranting. It was not the aim of this blog to go off on one about the government. What I wanted was to give you an idea how bad things are before coming to what was the actual aim of this blog: to pay my respect to those who have died as a direct or indirect result of “work capability assessment” carried out on behalf of the UK Government by Atos Healthcare and subsequent benefit cuts. I will do that on a separate blog: In Memoriam

I would like to end this blog asking you to sign and share the following petitions:

I always had a lot of respect for the late astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. His genius and wit transcended his field of expertise time and time again. He gave us many unforgettable TV/radio moments. But what I will always remember him for is his wisdom and unmistakable wit. And it`s this wisdom and wit that brings me to write this. Today I read an article whereby Sir Patrick teaches us how to annoy pen-pushers, box-ticking bureaucrats. The following is an extract from this article*.

Ten commandments for bureaucrat bashing

1. Never say anything clearly. When writing to jobsworths and timeservers, word your letter so that it could mean almost anything…or nothing.2. Don’t be legible. Always write letters by hand, and make your verbose scrawl as impenetrable as possible.3. Garble your opponent’s name. Misread the signature. If the correspondence is signed ‘M. Harris’, address your reply to ‘N. Hayes’ or ‘W. Hardy’. Don’t get too flippant though — the penpushers might lack a sense of humour, but if you write to ‘M. Hedgehog’, they will sense a legpull.4. Give fake references. If you have a letter from the tax office, ref: EH/4/PNG/H8, mark your reply with some other code in the same format, such as DC/5/IMH/R9. This should ensure that the taxman wastes minutes, or hopefully hours, rooting for a file that doesn’t exist.5. The same goes for dates. Get them slightly wrong, every time.
Stamp away: And make sure it's in the wrong place6. Follow up your fakes. Write to request a reply to letters that you haven’t sent, and include bogus reference numbers. This is a surefire timewaster and might even, if your Twitmarsh is of a sensitive disposition, reduce him to tears.7.Never pay the right amount. Include a discrepancy in every envelope — never too much, but always more than a few pence. A sum between £1.20 and £2.80 is recommended. Then you can start an interminable correspondence to reclaim the overpayment (or dispute the underpayment).8. When enclosing a cheque, staple it to the letter. With two staples. Or three. Right in the middle of the cheque. At the least, you’ll waste someone’s time — at best, you might wreck their computer.9. As a point of honour, never give up on a correspondence before at least six pointless letters have been exchanged. Think big and aim for double figures.10. If a postage-paid envelope is not supplied by your Twitmarsh, send off your reply without a stamp. The bureaucrats will have to pay much more at the other end.
Stamp with fury
By way of a variation on point 10, you could put the wrong postage on, in the wrong place.
One man who got into a war of letters with the Royal Mail itself persisted in sticking his stamp right in the middle of the envelope. This makes it difficult for the franking machines.
This petty but effective tactic riled every official in the postal hierarchy, right up to the district chief manager. He wrote to the rebel, warning him never to stick a stamp anywhere but the top right‑hand corner of the envelope.
By return came an envelope with the stamp dead centre, and a little rhyme enclosed: ‘Hey diddle diddle, the stamp’s in the middle.’

Grease is the word

Endless invention can be employed, providing you follow the Fundamental Rules.
For example, when filling in a form, always keep a candle handy. Whenever you come to a box marked ‘For official use only — do not write in this space’, rub the candle gently over the box. A thin layer of grease will make it impossible for your Twitmarsh to write on the paper, and might muck up his ballpoint, too.
When filing in forms, do not feel obliged to use English. Why not employ that smattering of Spanish you picked up on your holidays, or the residue of schoolroom French from your third-year days?
If you or a friend speak a really obscure language, so much the better — especially one that doesn’t use the Roman alphabet.
Nothing makes Twitmarsh’s brow perspire more freely than the sight of a form filled out in squiggly script. Do the first page in Russian, the second in Chinese and the third in Hindi.
For extra marks, find someone who speaks Klingon, the language of Star Trek’s aliens.

Tax the Taxman

Public enemy No 1, of course, is Twitmarsh the Taxman.
The inland revenue strives to give the impression of a service staffed by kindly, conscientious, basically decent officials who are doing their jobs efficiently and who are always ready to help and advise.
Alas, this is not always the case. Sometimes one encounters a real maggot.
The tax inspector, unfortunately, occupies an unassailable position. He can persecute his victims to the point of breakdown — that’s his job.

Confusion is the solution: An annoyed civil servant equals a job well done

It sometimes seems that the tax office is staffed by specially selected sadists. Take Twitmarsh of the VAT office. He has everything to gain by pursuing excessive demands, and nothing to lose. It isn’t his money at stake, and the worst that can happen is a gentle reprimand from the ombudsman, who has all the ferocity of a raspberry blancmange.
He must be fought. Have no mercy. Bombard him with convoluted enquiries, in bad handwriting and worse English. Scatter invented Latin phrases throughout — my favourite is the schoolboy motto, ‘Itisapis potitis andatino ne’ (I’m not going to translate it, but you can work out the meaning if you move the spaces around).
The reply you receive will probably be terse. Leave things for a few days, and then send a photocopy of exactly the same letter, requesting a reply. You needn’t say that it has already been answered — that will only dawn on Twitmarsh after he has wasted more time.
Another useful tip is to send the tax man, out of the blue, a small cheque (or better still, a postal order) for which he hasn’t asked. Make it a really trifling sum, say £7.86 — certainly no more than a tenner.
Enclose a grumpy letter, to the effect that you really can’t understand why this piffling sum is being demanded but that of course you will pay, as ordered.
If the cheque is returned, write back, demanding to know why the tax office requested it in the first place, and whether they have nothing better to do but waste your time. Be sure to add bogus reference numbers in the appropriate format — that really sends them running in circles.
When you pay your next genuine tax demand, be sure to hold back that £7.86, with a note reminding Twitmarsh that you have already paid.
When eventually it is decided that you still, in fact, owe that money, jumble up the numbers on the cheque – send them £6.87, or £8.76. Then send a letter querying the discrepancy. Repeat ad infinitum.
The revenue offices never stop complaining that their staff are overworked and their departments underfunded. Unless something is done to alleviate the crisis, they insist, the entire tax system could break down.
This is your goal. Never cease to dream.

Jobsworths’ jargon and what it really means

Do not be fooled by the conciliatory tone of a bureaucrat. The Twitmarsh is at his most dangerous when using bland officialese. Study the following guide to official jargon:
Your letter has been carefully considered and its contents noted = I haven’t looked at it.
A full survey of the problem has been put in hand = Nothing will be done.
I assure you that action will be taken as soon as possible = Nothing will ever be done.
Urgent action will be taken in the very near future = Nothing will be done until hell freezes over.
I fully appreciate the problem = I couldn’t care less.
I have every sympathy with your point of view = I’ve already forgotten your existence.
You are fully entitled to make your views known = Nobody here takes the blindest bit of notice.
Your complaint is being fully investigated = Your letters have been filed in the wastepaper basket.
Your complaint appears to have some validity, and will be thoroughly investigated = Your letters were torn into small squares before being dropped in the wastepaper basket.
I will refer the matter to the appropriate department = Your letters have been shredded, your computer file has been deleted and all future correspondence will go straight into the wastepaper basket unopened.
A full and detailed reply will be sent to you in the near future = You’ll never hear another word from us.
The possibility of an administrative/computer error is being investigated = Life in this office is one foul‑up after another, but you’ll never get us to admit it.
You will appreciate the complex nature of this matter = I just can’t be bothered to think about it.
The increase in our charges is, regrettably, unavoidable = You are going to pay for my bonus.
This department endeavours to process all matters outstanding with the minimum of delay = I’m playing golf this afternoon.
I will be delighted to see you to discuss the matter at your convenience = Just try getting past my secretary.
I do not really feel that any useful purpose is to be served in pursuing this matter further = Get stuffed.
May I assure you of our attention and consideration at all times = Go and boil your head. And then get stuffed.

Plods on parade

Beat a bobby: The simplest way to annoy an officer.
Special care must be taken with PC Twitmarsh.
The police do a splendid job, on the whole, but most police constables go through a difficult stage, a sort of puberty, usually after being passed over for their sergeant’s stripes for the first time.
They look for someone to take out their frustrations upon, and the most convenient victim is invariably a motorist.
Drunken, incompetent and reckless drivers deserve no sympathy. The menace of PC Twitmarsh is that he’s out to catch the motorist who is doing a few miles per hour too many on a safely deserted road.
When he pulls you over, he will adopt one of two personae: Good Twitmarsh and Bad Twitmarsh.GT is affable, charming, even apologetic. He’ll say: “I’m sorry to trouble you, sir, but were you aware that this is a 30mph area and you, in fact, were doing 34mph?”BT is intimidating, blustering, even rude: “Who do we think we are, James Bond? Been drinking, have you? Martinis, was it? Come on, licence and insurance, let’s be seeing them.”
In both cases, the end result is the same — a fine and the risk of losing your licence.

About traffic wardens I will not write here, in view of the laws regulating the use of obscene language.

Suffice to say that these wretched creatures, sub-human and depraved, are the worst of all manifestations of modern civilisation. Let’s leave it at that.

Plan your attack

A good opening gambit is to write to the planning officer, putting forward some constructive comments about the local one-way system. Make them just sane enough to be taken seriously.
You will probably get a rational reply, and before Twitmarsh knows it he will be embroiled in a long and quite futile correspondence.
You could suggest, for instance, an elaborate underpass below a level crossing, and a flyover to replace the mini roundabout.
Extra marks if you can induce the planning department to enter into a discussion on the feasibility of introducing trams into a pedestrianised area. Or a monorail. Planners can never see the farcical element in monorails.
When the correspondence is well under way, leak it to the local paper. Use an assumed name, such as Mrs U. Rynall. Nothing is more calculated to make a pompous Twitmarsh grind his teeth in rage.

This is a delicate subject. Maybe one that I, little Miss Insensitive, shouldn’t be allowed to write about. But here I am, writing about suicide and euthanasia. Before I carry on I would like to apologize to the politically correct brigade, the moralists, theists, the sensitive, the naive, etc. This is my opinion and views on the matter and right or wrong I am entitled to them. So here it goes: I am pro choice, pro suicide and pro euthanasia.

I didn’t just wake up one day thinking about these issues. I have thought about them for long and hard but today I read, and above all I listened to what an acquaintance of mine had to say about her debilitating, painful, terminal illness SMA spinal muscular atrophy

I agree with her that in her case like in the case of all those who have such a debilitating illnesses, assisted death should be allowed. I believe if a person is in a perfectly sound state of mind they should be allowed such wish to be put in a legal document and have their final wish carried out by a specially trained nurse/doctor at a secure and safe place. I also think that apart from trained nurses/doctors, members of the immediate family or close circle of friends, if in total agreement and having gone through the necessary training and counseling should also be allowed to do it. I mean, I would have thought that most people would rather die in their own homes than in a sterile clinic/hospital and that a fair few would rather have a relative or close friend be the one to help them in their last and final step.

There should be some strict regulations in place though. I mean, those who are terminal should be protected from the unscrupulous and the down right evil people of this world who would, without a shadow of a doubt try and take advantage of the situation. We would need to make sure that it was 100% the wish of the dying person first of all and that they were of sound mind at the time of writing their wishes. Also, there should be severe punishment to those who are found performing unwanted or unrequited euthanasia. Damn, if it’s unwanted/unrequited it’s nothing more than murder.

As for regulations and punishment of those who unlawfully perform euthanasia, this should be the only time the state should have any say in the matter. I strongly believe that it should be left to doctors, the patient and the family to decide on when and how. If the state is allowed to interfere with this, there is a distinct possibility that some paper pushing fat cat at the top would "bonk off" a few people against their wishes just so he/she could meet targets and figures.

Now, as for suicide, euthanasia IS assisted suicide. I don’t see much difference between the two. Just because someone is fit and healthy from the perspective of those looking in it doesn’t mean to say that that person is fit and healthy. That is the main problem and lack of understanding surrounding mental health issues. Most people still don’t understand that just because they can’t see an illness (no broken bones, heart attacks etc) that the sufferer of a mental illness is just selfish for committing suicide. Sometimes the mental pain, the anguish the torture is so much, so unbearable that there is no other way out.

Sure, it is sad to see/hear of suicide but it is equally as sad in the case of euthanasia. One could actually argue that euthanasia is a cop-out (I don’t think it is but the argument IS valid).

In the case of my acquaintance, her body is "broken". In my case (for argument sake) my mind/spirit are "broken". If/when her body hurts, drugs can easy that pain. Morphine is almost immediate relief. If/when my mind causes me unbearable pain and suffering there are no drugs to easy that unless one takes anti-depressants or anti-psychotics for weeks/months on end. She is a prisoner of her body. I am a prisoner of my mind. Who suffers more? Who has more rights to live or die?

I know I have now opened a new can of worms: if a person has mental health issues, is that person in their right mind to decide if suicide is their best option? Isn’t the feeling of loss, emptiness and ultimately suicide part and parcel of many common mental illnesses? Who can guarantee that a person with a terminal illness such as SMA, at the time of writing their final wishes isn’t depressed? I suppose these are the questions which make this an almost impossible issue to address and legislate.

FOOTNOTE - I now believe the "provisional green light", which means that a Swiss physician would be ready to write the prescription for the lethal drug, should be made available to those who want it. That alone should reduce the number of suicides because simply knowing that there is an emergency exit available, should they need it, is so comforting that they have a good chance of living until their life’s natural end.

* I would like to thank my acquaintance, who shall remain unnamed, for being so open and brave.

Dear stalker, I find it very sad that even as an adult you think it's okay to bully someone. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I'm not under any false illusion that everyone is going to like me but you have no right to harass me as you've done over the past year.

You've set up numerous false accounts, at least 1 in my name where you slate and destroy my character. After blocking you, you still take the time to read my timeline and tweet me daily. You go as far as tweet my followers and anyone I tweet desperately trying to gain my attention. And when all else fails, you send in your lapdogs to do your dirty work. Some have even picked/perved on my child, which is totally unacceptable.

I've tried to ignore you but after 1 year os this relentless campaign of harassment and intimidation it's time to stand up to you. The sad thing is you'll probably enjoy the attention which is why I haven't mentioned your twitter name but I know you know who you are.

There is something fundamentally wrong with you if you have been blocked yet you continue to relentlessly tweet at the blocker. Shows you have very little self respect, dignity and intelligence. A normal person would have moved on. But obviously you are not normal. I suggest you stop using Twitter as your "help in the community" crutch and seek professional help.

NOTE - Twitter @safety advice is to block/ignore and they say that trolls will give up and go away. Not always the case. As for stalking, twitter @safety advises you to set your tweets to private. In another words, penalising the person being stalked while ignoring the stalker. Twitter should stop turning a blind eye to such things and crack down on cyber bullies. Their non-action short of condones this kind of behaviour.